Unfortunate Porch Enclosures
Some porch enclosures are surprisingly successful, but most are not. When done in a manner that does not acknowledge the prevailing style of the rest of the house, or in a way that emphasizes mass over void, such enclosures can have not only a deadening effect on the...
Subtle Changes
The following two photos show how very subtle changes to the exterior of a house result in larger perceptual changes. In the first photo, a 1960's-vintage ranch house is shown in near original, though slightly worn, condition. The second photo shows the house in...
Altered Examples of the Mayflower / Mount Vernon / Cabot / Stratford
Recently I spotted two more examples of a popular mail order house by the Gordon-Van Tine Company and also marketed through Montgomery Ward. Called the "Cabot" and "Stratford" in different years by Gordon-Van Tine and the "Mayflower" or "Mount Vernon" by Montgomery...
6 Random Houses with Issues
Here are six houses which have all been altered in one way or another...
Sidewalk to Nowhere
This is what happens when a former front porch is aggressively enclosed and then wrapped, along with the rest of the house, in vinyl siding:
Color and the Home
Just a few color schemes to avoid when painting a house:
Useless Shutters
Plastic louvered blinds, more commonly known as "shutters", were attached to this 1960's ranch style house in a presumed effort to beautify it. Even if hinged and operable, none of the four shutters on the front of this house would cover or protect anything. The tall...
Upside Down Fanlight
Nothing surprises me anymore, really. There is literally no end to the weird things people will do to houses and other structures. This house has suffered numerous indignities including the installation of asbestos siding and the later removal of a window from the...
Extreme Makeover c. 1972 “Reimagined” in 2017
History does repeat itself, does it not? This hapless house has had a hellacious history. After being stripped of its true identity in the early 70's and given a quasi-Colonial/Second Empire identity, this tragic structure has now been "reimagined" in a manner...
Barn Facade Facelift
When an early 20th century barn was converted to a milk house for a growing dairy operation in the 1960's, its front lost one window and gained two doorways to accommodate cattle. While functional, the modest bit of architectural style the barn had possessed was...
Stripping Paint Easily from 1960’s Paneling
A vintage 1960's kitchen had remained in top-notch, original, condition until a few years ago when the house was sold to new owners. Sadly, they removed period 1960's lighting and painted over wood paneling and some cabinetry. New nondescript lighting so typical of...
Backdating Interior Trim
A small Craftsman style bungalow built around 1915 received an addition to the rear of the house about 50 years later. During the process of the 1960's renovation, a doorway in the living room was widened. At the same time, the wall was covered in wood paneling and...
Random Observations – Part 9
Just a few scenes which caught my eye on a recent road trip here in flyover country. Enjoy! ...
Stylized Crenellation
This 1920's-era Commercial style building combining retail with living space above, as well as an adjacent gas station, would be easily forgettable if not for the exuberant zig-zag profile of its unusually crenellated parapet wall. While still intact above the living...
Vintage Drag
Not all stylistic makeovers are of recent origin - homeowners have had a penchant for remodeling for as long as there have been houses. Here are a few "Before and After" transformations taken from vintage decorating magazines and a promotional brochure for stucco:...
Varied Maintenance c. 1900
While recently unpacking boxes of stuff, I was struck by the number of antique photos I have which show buildings or houses which are in disrepair or in need of paint. Another demonstrates that even during the Victorian era, some people struggled with painting houses...
Obliterating History
Insensitivity toward the artistic compositions known as building facades has been going on, well, pretty much forever. Clearly many people do not value buildings rendered in brick, stone, etc., in the same way they do an artistic composition rendered in oil on a...
Full Frontal Garage
Some houses - especially newer ones - appear to be more garage than house. In the early 20th century when cars were still coming of age, they were stored away in a garage at the back of the lot just as horses and carriages had been in prior decades. Garages were...
Painting the House c. 1915
Everyone who reveres historic buildings understands the importance of maintenance. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people today who do not revere our historic buildings and who do not think that they are especially important. A century ago the concept of actual...
Answered Questions
The following photograph is one side of a stereo pair dating to the 1870's. I've had the stereoview for many years and had often wondered about it. What became of the house? Who built it? Is it still standing? I had to know. Fortunately, someone had penciled...
Former Italianate Feigns Colonial Past
Looking like something out of a post-war subdivision, this ostensibly Colonial Revival four-plex would have gotten away with its charade if it hadn't been for those meddling architectural sleuths that happened upon it! Located just a block away from the...
A Beaux Arts Building: To Hell and Back
The building depicted in the following photos has undergone many changes since 1907 when it was constructed as a bank and fraternal lodge. The first photo, a black and white image, shows the building when new. Stylistically, the masonry building shows a strong Beaux...
From Good to Bad to Contrived
When I first photographed this small commercial building I was smitten with its Brutalist / Modernist vibe - not something one expects to find in an obscure corner of "flyover country". I loved the concrete, oddball windows and corner emphasis. I knew it was much...
A Visit to Edina, Missouri
Edina, Missouri, is one of those very rare towns that still retains a lot of its past and yet has not been gentrified into contrived quaintness. It's loaded with surprisingly intact commercial storefronts facing the town square. Which is itself rather interesting as...
A House in the Spanish Eclectic Style
While found throughout the country, the Spanish Eclectic style was most popular in the Southwest and in Florida. Many examples were built between the 1910's and the 1930's. The style is frequently confused with the preceding Mission style and the roughly...
Erasing Character
With the proliferation of television programs devoted to house renovation (designed to sell products and stimulate the economy - not to instill a passion for history and actual cultural preservation) it's not surprising that many formerly styled houses end...
Bruce Goff’s Hyde House
Commissioned in 1965 by Lawrence Hyde, this house designed by Bruce Goff is located in suburban Kansas City. Because the house remains a private residence, I took photos only of the front which could be seen from the street. I'm fairly certain that the other...
Mid-Century Modern Concrete Block Screen Walls
Just a few random examples of some of the ways decorative concrete block has been used in the past for both ornament and privacy. These examples all probably date to the 1960's: ...
The Exotic Revival Style
While many are familiar with the most popular "romantic" architectural styles of the 19th century (Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Octagon and Italianate), fewer are familiar with the Exotic Revival. In their essential and definitive "A Field Guide to American...
Transparent Siding!
In an interesting experiment, a decrepit barn is getting an unusual update. It was desired to immediately utilize the building as a workshop and storage, but the numerous holes, cracks, and missing chunks of wood siding made it drafty and vulnerable to moisture....
Salvaging Gable Ornaments
Gable ornaments are most commonly associated with the Queen Anne and Folk Victorian architectural styles. Widely available in the late 19th and early 20th centuries at lumber yards or through mail-order catalogs, these ornaments still add interest to historic houses...
Decaying 1920’s Adobe Construction
An abandoned homestead which dates to the 1890's was apparently updated in the 1920's with adobe construction. These updates, despite their advanced deterioration, are quite fascinating. Adobe construction on the property consists of a small one-room structure of...
Removing a Fireplace Mantel and Tile Surround
Recently I had the opportunity to assist in the removal of an early 20th-century mantelpiece from a vacant farmhouse awaiting demolition. The mantelpiece and other woodwork and windows are to be installed in a new house currently under construction on the same farm....
Organic Architecture: Verne Lars Solberg
Built in 1962 in Polo, Illinois, this recently restored house was designed by Verne Lars Solberg who studied under Bruce Goff at the University of Oklahoma in 1949. It is quite beautiful and the restoration was done very well. All photos below were taken...
Auction Action
This morning I went to a consignment auction which had a few items of architectural / aesthetic interest. With 8 rings selling simultaneously, and something of interest in each one, it was hard to be in the right place at the right time for the purpose of bidding....
Sculptured Glass Block
Today I happened upon a building which was delightfully peppered with sculptured glass block. I haven't seen much of this stuff outside of Chicagoland where it was popular in the 1960's, so I did some digging online. Soon I was rewarded with A Chicago Sojourn - an...
Things That Make You Go “Hmmm…”
Five different structures that all stand out in their own unique way...
Random Observations – Part 8
More overlooked structures and architectural details to contemplate....
A Trip to 135-Year-Old Lord’s Hardware
How many businesses can you think of that have been in continuous operation for 135 years in the same location? Probably not many. Lord's Hardware has been operating continuously since 1882 in downtown Indianola, Nebraska. If you need some obscure widget and don't...
Mid-century Modern Door
This door graces a mid-20th century ranch house in Southwestern Nebraska. I had to photograph it when I saw a "For Sale" sign in the yard and determined that no one was actually living in the house. An unfortunate storm door could not completely obscure the...
Yesteryear’s Update
People have been remodeling buildings ever since they started building them. Here is a structure which was began as a two story brick office building sometime in the 1920's. In the late 1940's or early 1950's it was modernized and given an extra floor in the process....
Miscellaneous Houses Styles
Just a random assortment of houses I encountered recently - each representing a different style...
Superficial Bracketing
The two houses shown below have each been augmented with brackets. Both houses date to somewhere around 1910 and are vernacular examples of the foursquare form. Neither house is specifically styled, but each has characteristics common to both Colonial Revival and...
Interesting Exterior Stair Enclosures
Many commercial buildings have (or once had) exterior stairwells or staircases. Most need some type of enclosure. Solutions have changed over the years; here are three different sets of stairs - each is an interesting survivor: Sleek 60's Aluminum ...
Windowless Facade w/ Recessed Entry
This minimalist facade is both playful and sophisticated. Probably dating to the mid-1960's, the building it graces serves as the offices of a CPA. Not all business can do away with a glass front, but for those that can, this is a fun and memorable way to make an...
Exterior Lighting c. 1970
What's not to love about super-sized exterior light fixtures mounted at a jaunty angle? These three globe lights illuminate a bench adjacent to the entrance of a bank building:
Random Observations – Part 7
Today the Architectural Observer revisits the theme of Desolation - because it is both prevalent and relevant. Similar scenes can be found throughout the Great Plains: ...
A Visit to the Koester House
The majority of house museums scattered throughout the country rely heavily upon conjecture and the acquisition of period pieces to recreate the past. The Gothic Revival style Koester house is delightfully different, and doesn't feel overly curated or over-restored....
Lustron Houses
Lustrons pop up when you least expect them. I hadn't run across any in a long time and then, BAM, two in one day! Both have had alterations and differing levels of maintenance. If you're not familiar with Lustron houses, here is a bit of history on them courtesy of...
Miscellaneous Craftsman Style Houses
Many communities dotting the Great Plains initially grew and flourished in the early 20th century - roughly the same time period which saw the Arts and Crafts movement blossom. Therefore, its not surprising that the Craftsman style was quite popular in these growing...